About Me

I am a former Mormon. This blog includes posts I've made to various discussion boards on the subject of Mormonism. It is not intended to promote the Mormon faith. Those who participate in the faith and prefer not to have their faith challenged are discouraged from reading. All readers are welcome to comment regardless of viewpoint. Note for clarity: my comments are always in black typeface.

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Born to make mistakes

What are some typical characteristics of people who fall for the Mormon scam? —Desiree

Born into a Mormon family or befriended by Mormons.

If you're trying to imply that there's something more to it, I think you're mistaken. If you feel confident that you personally would not have fallen for it under the same circumstances, I again think you're mistaken. Mormonism works for so many people not because *those* people are stupid but because people, in general, do not make decisions rationally based on impassive logic and critical thinking. And once that decision is made we tend to use most of our mental energy rationalizing and self-justifying rather than asking, "Was that the right choice?" Of course this applies to all people, believers and nonbelievers. Religions are an interesting view into the way humans think.